Port of Oakland Gets Giant Cranes

SSA Terminals, the operator of Oakland International Container
Terminal, submitted last week a $30 million order for three
300-foot-tall gantry cranes, which are expected to be delivered
in 18 months.

The cranes will go to Oakland International Terminal on Oakland
Estuary and will become the tallest on the West Coast, port
officials said.

The project aims to prepare the port to handle the world's
largest container ships, which can be up to 1,300 feet long and
carry nearly 23,000 cargo containers. The containers can be
stacked up to 12-high above deck on the largest vessels,
officials said.

"This demonstrates the faith that business partners have in
Oakland as a trade gateway," said Port Maritime Director John
Driscoll. "There's no more visible sign of a port's growth than
installing larger ship-to-shore cranes."

The new cranes, which were ordered from Shanghai-based ZPMC, will
have a lift height of 174 feet above the dock and will be able to
reach 225 feet across a ship's deck, SSA said.

The cranes, which could be 440-feet tall with booms upraised,
would be delivered by ship from China. They'd arrive only
partially assembled to assure clearance under the San
Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

"Big ships are the future," said SSA Containers President Ed
DeNike. "They're coming to Oakland and we're going to be ready
for them."